OKLAHOMA CITY – The Sooner Athletic Conference has appointed John Martin as its new commissioner.
Martin joins the Sooner Athletic Conference as its third commissioner since the conference's inception in 1978. The Sooner Athletic Conference boasts of 109 national championships in all sports won by its league members. Martin brings vast experience as an athletic administrator and connections to the conference to his new position.
Martin has spent 15 years in college athletics and 18 years in a university setting during his professional career. He has been the development officer for the University of Oklahoma's Price College of Business the past two years. Martin served as an athletic director within the conference for three years, overseeing the development of St. Gregory's 17 varsity intercollegiate sports as AD.
"Having been a former student-athlete, coach and athletic director in this conference, I am overjoyed to call the SAC home again," Martin said. "I am looking forward to working every day to ensure the continued success of the SAC, the premier small-college athletic conference in the nation."
Prior to becoming athletic director at St. Gregory's, Martin guided the Cavaliers as head men's basketball coach. Martin directed St. Gregory's for eight seasons before taking the AD post. He led St. Gregory's to its finest season in 2013-14 as the Cavaliers (24-10) reached the NAIA Division I Fab Four. Martin spent 20 years coaching basketball on the college and high school level and led John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City to the 2003 Class 5A boys basketball state championship.
Martin's college basketball career took him to Oklahoma City University, Panhandle State and St. Gregory's. Martin contributed to Oklahoma City's 1994 NAIA Division I national championship team and was a team captain for OCU. He began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant with OCU's 1996 national title team.
"John Martin's story is really remarkable," said Dr. Tim Faltyn, Oklahoma Panhandle State University President. "Professionally, his set of skills and experiences make him the ideal choice to take the Sooner Athletic Conference to the next level. In terms of knowledge about athletics, athletic administration, conference composition, external relations, his connections to the SAC and most importantly, providing excellent student-athlete experiences, we believe he will be an excellent commissioner."
ABOUT THE SOONER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Sooner Athletic Conference, founded in 1978 as a five-member conference of Oklahoma-based schools, currently has a 11-member league competing in 18 sports with six members in Oklahoma, four in Texas and one each in Arkansas and Kansas.
Current full members include Central Christian College (McPherson, Kan.), John Brown University (Siloam Springs, Ark.), Langston University (Langston, Okla.), Mid-America Christian University (Oklahoma City), Oklahoma City University (Oklahoma City), Oklahoma Panhandle State University (Goodwell, Okla.), Southwestern Assemblies of God University (Waxahachie, Texas), Southwestern Christian University (Bethany, Okla.), Texas Wesleyan University (Fort Worth, Texas), University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma (Chickasha, Okla.) and Wayland Baptist University (Plainview, Texas). The University of North Texas Dallas (Dallas) has become the latest addition to the Sooner Athletic Conference as an associate member.
